


The Sea Prince And The Shark Knight

by JackyJango



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Erik is a Sweetheart, Kid Fic, M/M, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 18:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21396958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackyJango/pseuds/JackyJango
Summary: Charles is… nice. He’s never been unkind to Erik, he always smiles at Erik whenever he looks his way, he doesn’t mock Erik’s accent like everyone else does (Charles, too, has an accent, but nobody seems to be mocking him for it. Not that Erik wishes for it. He doesn’t like the idea of Charles being mocked– for his accent or anything else. Then again, Erik likes Charles’ accent, so he can’t complain, he supposes). Charles even shared his spare pencil once when Erik’s had been broken. Erik can easily imagine Charles as his friend- eating lunch during recess and solving division problems together in class. Erik could show Charles his Hot Wheels collection and build tracks around his room. Or he could ask his father to build them a tree-house and go diving in the lake.Yes, Erik decides he would like that very much.Erik wants to walk over to Charles and talk to him, but Charles is surrounded by their classmates, where he’s explaining something with his hands. Erik wants to listen, too. He wants to know what Charles is saying; but that would mean mingling with the rest of his classmates, andthatsimply cannot happen.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 157





	The Sea Prince And The Shark Knight

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have wanted to write a kid!fic for a long time now, but the opportunity never arose, and then the zine said, keep it PG-13, and I thought: 'Funny you should say that...'
> 
> Thanks to the awesome **[Lyric](https://archiveofourown.org/users/g33kyclassic/pseuds/g33kyclassic)** and **[afrocurl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl)** for the beta! :D
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story as much as I had writing it!  
Cheers! :D

Erik scowls as a gang of his classmates breeze past him. He skirts around the group and stands a little off to one side. Unfortunately, Erik cannot avoid them in the narrow tunnel of the aquarium like he avoids them in class-- where he sits alone on the last bench and glares at everybody with his height advantage.

He'd suspected that coming on this field trip would be a bad idea, but now, he’s completely sure of it. It doesn’t matter what he feels, anyway, because Mama wouldn’t have heard any of his pleas. She had been adamant on Erik being on the trip. “ _ It's the perfect opportunity to make new friends,''  _ she had said.

The venue of the picnic isn’t so much of an issue as the company is. Really, Erik has absolutely no reason to like his third grade classmates. There’s that stupid Scott with his stupid face and stupid plasma glasses. Kitty would have been nice if she didn't tattle everything he did or said in class back to his Mama. Then there’s Sean, who treats Erik like he’s some villain. He might have pushed Sean off the basketball court once.  _ Once! _ Accidents happen. Angel would have made a good friend if she would stop smirking every time she passed him-- like she knew the ending of Jurassic Park, and he didn't. Hank is scared of him; though, Erik doesn't know what for. 

Then there’s Charles. Mr. Janos says that Charles was supposed to be in the second grade, but because he's so smart, he's in the third grade instead. Considering how Charles is smaller than everyone else in the class-- the top of his head only reaches Erik’s shoulder-- and extremely intelligent, it might be true.

Charles is… nice. He’s never been unkind to Erik, he always smiles at Erik whenever he looks his way, he doesn't mock Erik's accent like everyone else does (Charles, too, has an accent, but nobody seems to be mocking him for it. Not that Erik wishes for it. He doesn't like the idea of Charles being mocked-- for his accent or anything else. Then again, Erik likes Charles' accent, so he can't complain, he supposes). Charles even shared his spare pencil once when Erik’s had been broken. Erik can easily imagine Charles as his friend- eating lunch during recess and solving division problems together in class. Erik could show Charles his Hot Wheels collection and build tracks around his room. Or he could ask his father to build them a treehouse and go diving in the lake. 

Yes, Erik decides he would like that very much.

Erik wants to walk over to Charles and talk to him, but Charles is surrounded by their classmates, where he's explaining something with his hands. Erik wants to listen, too. He wants to know what Charles is saying; but that would mean mingling with the rest of his classmates, and  _ that _ simply cannot happen. So Erik sticks to the glass he’s leaning against and pokes at it to distract himself. A grey shark glides in front of him in the water; like a sentinel in grey armour, like it guards the waters of the entire aquarium. Maybe it does.

Erik raptly watches it move for a few more minutes before Miss Moira calls for their attention.

‘Alright, class, please follow me,’ she says, gesturing them to follow her a few feet along the railing from where they’re currently standing. Erik follows at the tail end of the crowd reluctantly, and sticks to the edge of it when they all stop in front of Miss Moira.

After taking a quick headcount, Miss Moira points to a fish beyond the glass. It’s a small, yellowish fish-- nowhere big or as beautiful as a shark-- but passable.

‘This is the  _ Callipterus Cichlid _ fish, which is found mostly in Lake Tanganyika.’

‘Isn’t Lake Tanganyika in Africa, Miss Moira?’ Charles asks, standing beside her and smiling brightly. His eyes are bluer than the water beyond the glass and his cheeks and lips are the same shade of pink. He's very cute, Erik decides quickly.

‘Yes, Charles, it is.’ Miss Moira agrees, mirroring his smile.

‘These fishes are known for their skill of…’ Miss Moira stops. She frowns at the fish for a moment and then adds: ‘making new friends.’

Erik’s classmates murmur and whisper amongst themselves before Miss Moira bids them to maintain silence.

‘These fish have developed a unique way to find… friends. When a  _ Cichlid _ fish wishes company, he collects shells form the lake floor and piles it up fashionably.’

As she speaks, the fish that had earlier wandered behind a rock, now returns with a conical shell in its mouth and drops it on the small bed of shells beside a rock.

‘And if another  _ Cichlid _ fish likes the collection of shells made by this guy, he gets a new friend. Genius, isn’t it?’ Miss Moira completes with a big smile.

It’s stupid, really. Why would you need shells to make a new friend?

But everyone else seems to like it a lot, clapping and cheering as they follow Miss Moira along the railing. Even Charles seems very happy.  _ Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! _ Erik hears Charles say to Scott as the group moves past him.

Erik stays back after everyone moves to the next spot trailing behind Miss Moira, because he wants to see if it’s really such a ‘brilliant’ plan. 

As Erik observes, the yellow fish wanders for a few more minutes, adding more shells to the shell bed. Ten minutes pass before another, smaller fish comes wandering and hovers above the edge of the bed of shells. The smaller fish inspects the shells for a moment before swimming over to the shell-collector fish.

_ Mein Gott _ , it really works!

An idea forms quickly in Erik’s mind.

Miss Moira had reprimanded them from venturing on the beach behind the compound of the aquarium during the briefing earlier. But if he could sneak out now, he’d be able to return by the time they're scheduled to leave. Miss Moira wouldn’t suspect a thing.

It’s really difficult to get nice shells-- one’s which are not caked with mud or moss-- but Erik is determined. After scouring the beach for nearly an hour, he collects enough shells to fit in both his pockets. Mama will probably scold him for the dirt on his pants, though.

Despite what the fish did, he can’t just present Charles with a bunch of shells, it feels stupid to Erik. That evening, after returning from the aquarium, Erik holes up in his room. He places all the shells he'd collected on his desk and rattles his brain for ideas. 

He could paste all the shells on a paper or cardboard. No, that's a stupid idea. 

He could make a necklace… or a crown. Yes, a crown would be ideal. Charles does look like a Sea Prince with his blue eyes and all.

Erik quickly gets to work, selecting a thin metal wire to hold all the shells and then discards it after further thought. No. Metal would be uncomfortable to wear. Too cold.

‘What are you still doing up,  _ liebling _ ? You should be in bed. You have school tomorrow.’ His Mama enters his room when he’s rummaging through his toys-- surely, he should find something there to hold the shells.

'I'm making a shell crown, Mama,' he says, holding up a reel of aluminum string that's just as useless.

'A crown?'

Erik sighs and turns towards her. 'I want to make a new friend,' he says, and then dives in to explaining the remarkable method the  _ Cichlid _ fish use to make new friends and how he's planning to be Charles' friend by gifting him shells. His Mama listens to it all with a smile. She's pleased that he's trying to mingle, Erik knows.

'He looks like a Sea Prince, you say?' she asks, and Erik nods vigorously. 

Mama hums. 'A crown will slip away from the head if it's too large or small.'

Oh. Erik has not thought about that. Charles does have a small head, and his hair is silky-- Erik hasn't touched it, but he just knows-- so it may slip away either way. 

'Why don't you just set the shells on a string and give it to him. He can decide whether he wants to wear it as a necklace, bracelet or a crown.'

Yes. That's the best idea. His Mama is a genius!

'I'll be right back.' His Mama leaves and returns a few minutes later with a brown string. It's thicker than the metal wire. 'Try this,' she says, 'It'll hold the shells together and not irritate the skin.'

Erik doesn't question her further. If his Mama says it'll work, then it'll work, because his Mama knows everything.

Kissing his cheek and telling him not to stay up too late, she leaves Erik to get back to the shells.

With the super glue that he had taken from the tools kit earlier, Erik begins to paste the shells on the string. One by one. Carefully.

*

Erik spends the next day eyeing Charles from his last bench seat. Charles is sitting in the first bench and laughing at something Scott is saying. 

Erik scowls. Stupid Scott.

He feels for the shell crown in the right pocket of his trousers just to make sure it's all in one piece. It's safe, none of the shells have come out of their alignment. Satisfied, Erik goes back to drawing a shark for his essay on the Aquarium trip. 

The day slogs on after that. Erik’s time is spent eyeing Charles, checking on the shell crown and waiting for the clock to strike four.

The class starts to thin as the school-day ends. Erik stays behind waiting for Charles to finish a math problem with Hank. 

'Charles,' Erik calls out hesitantly when it's just Charles and him in the class.

'Erik!' Charles says with a wide smile turning towards him. 'I didn't realise you were still in class.'

'Yes, well…' Erik walks up to Charles and pulls out the shell crown gently from his pocket and cups it in his palms. 

What is he going to say though? Erik had planned what he'd do- wait till school gets over, walk up to Charles and give the shell crown. But he hadn't planned what he'd  _ say _ . 

_ Hi Charles, I wanted to make a friend because I have no one to talk to or eat lunch with or play after class or swim in the lake, and I thought that you'd be a nice friend because you're always so nice. And then in the aquarium yesterday the fish made new friends by collecting shells, and so I thought that I'll do the same with you because you thought it was a brilliant idea. _

No! That sounds stupid even in his head; like something Scott would say.

'What is this?' Charles asks eyeing the shell crown in his hands.

'Um…' Instead of answering, Erik holds out the two ends of the string between his thumb and forefinger and holds out the shells in front of Charles. 'For you,' he says nervously, because if Charles doesn't like it, then he may not want to be Erik's friend.

Charles looks at the loop of shells for a moment and breaks into a wide smile. 'For me?'

'Yes. I collected the shells myself from the beach behind the aquarium.' It's a very important for Charles to know that he collected the shells because the  _ Cichlids _ collect the shells themselves, too.

'Ah, that's why you were missing when Ms. Moira took us on a tour of the shark tank. I was looking for you everywhere!'

'You were looking for me?' Erik asks, surprised, because he didn't think Charles would be.

'Yes, I know how much you like sharks.'

_ Charles knows he likes sharks? _

Before Erik can respond, Charles comes forward and stretches his hands out, and Erik places the shells carefully into the cup of the smaller boy's palms. 

'What is it anyway. Can I wear this?' Charles asks enthusiastically, like when he talks about how banana trees are related to humans. 

_ It's a shell crown _ , Erik wants to say, but then he remembers his Mama's suggestion. Best leave it to Charles to decide what to do with it. 'It's up you. You can wear it as a crown, or a necklace, or a bracelet, or an armband.'

Charles concentrates on the shells in his hands like he concentrates at the math problems on the board, then holds up the string to his neck and ties it's ends clumsily. 'I think I'll wear it as a necklace,' he says with a bright smile. 'Thank you, my friend!'

Charles called him his  _ friend _ . It worked!

Erik grins.  _ Cichlids _ are amazing fish. Probably his favourite fish after sharks.

'- Raven was crying for ice cream for two days, so Mr. Andrews has made Earl Grey ice cream today. Do you want to come over?' Charles is asking as he's packing his books and pencils.

His Mama gets either chocolate or vanilla ice cream, so he doesn't know about this new ice cream Charles is talking about, but Erik nods vigorously, because he's Charles' friend now, and they can eat ice cream together.

'Come on, let's get going then-'

'Charles, wait!' Erik says, hesitant to move. The method works only if the intended friend likes the shells, so his friendship with Charles depends on Charles' approval of them. 'Do you like it?'

'Of course,' Charles grins easily, like it were obvious. 'Does it not look nice? I think it's groovy!'

Erik grins smugly. He's thrilled- the shells look brilliant on Charles, he has made a new friend, and best of all, his new friend is Charles! Mama is going to be so happy. 

'Perfection,' he says.

*

'A Shark Knight!' Raven blurts before bursting into boisterous laughter.

'Did he say that?' Eddie asks, amusement crinkling the skin further around her grey eyes. 

Still consumed by her laughter, Raven nods mutely.

'Well, my Erik was thoroughly convinced that Charles was a Sea Prince till he was in sixth grade,' Eddie provides smugly before biting down on her chicken.

'I'm sitting right here, you know,' Erik interjects. Maybe it  _ was _ a mistake inviting Raven and his mother for lunch together.

Charles, the bonafide traitor that he is, is chuckling beside Erik, enjoying the conversation immensely.

The two women expertly ignore Erik's protests and get back to pulling his leg.

_ Oh, it's all in good fun, Erik _ , Charles soothes when Erik begins to protest again. More shyly, he adds:  _ You didn't tell me that you thought I was a Sea Prince _ .

_ You didn't tell me that you thought that I was a Shark Knight either _ .

'Erik made a Shell Crown as well.' His Mama adds to the background banter. 

'Which Charles has been safekeeping for over _ two decades _ now,' Raven chimes in all too gleefully.

Charles chuckles into Erik's mind again.  _ You know that the Cichlid fish use that method to attract mates, not to make friends, don't you? Poor Ms. Moira just didn't know how to convey it to her third grade class. _

_ Well, I can't say I fault their system. I got a friend and a mate out of it. _ Just to prove his point, Erik winds his hand below the table and squeezes Charles' fingers, heating the gold band with his powers.

Charles hums happily.  _ The tale of the Sea Prince and his Shark Knight. We should write a book about it. _

_ I wouldn't be opposed to enacting it out in the bedroom tonight _ , Erik all but purrs the thought into Charles mind, complete with illustrations. 

He smiles smugly when Charles chokes on his wine. And if love comes in the form of primitive marine creatures, who's Erik to complain.

-

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and do let me know what you thought!
> 
> Also, [JackyJango](www.jackyjango.tumblr.com) on Tumblr! :D


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